Going Home

It's been over a year since I have been to my second home, Guam. Now here in July I will be back and plan on soaking in as much as I can. I'm very excited.

Monkey Fist Float

It has been a while since I have been able to sit down and craft or post. Always on the hunt for something new a coworker of mine recently mentioned that she was looking for a weighted Monkey Fist Knot to use as a door stopper. Here is the end result. I used an eight inch styrofoam ball that I cut in half, carved out the center then sealed a large rock into the recess. I then used 5/8" diameter Manilla rope. The surprising part for me was that it took about 70 feet of rope to completely wrap the ball.

Cloth Sling - A Tutorial in Pictures

Someone recently told me a decent sling couldn't be made from cloth. The reason was because the cloth would tear too easily. I looked at that statement as a challenge. This sling was made from an old pair of jeans. If you just cut a couple of holes in a piece of cloth and attach a couple of cords, it won't work however this is a way to make a sling quick and easy. From start to finish, including editing pictures this sling took me an hour to make and post. Cords could be anything that is available, small diameter rope, paracord, boot laces... whatever you have on hand.

Completed sling. If you poke a hole through the cloth to attach you cords your sling will come apart however if you fold and attach the cords as shown this is a great way of making a quick and effective sling for throwing stones of any size or shape. A sling used for throwing large projectiles should have a larger pouch and at some point you might want to use a wrist anchor instead of a finger loop.

The grid shown is 1inch by one inch. Size is personal preference. This is a good and average size for a sling pouch.

Fold your material, doubling it over like this will add to the structural strength.

Make a small hole through all thicknesses of material where they fold over. Push a loop of cord through the hole as shown then tuck the end of the pouch through the cord loop and pull these cords tight to anchor your sling's cords to the pouch.

Use a smaller diameter cord, thread or string to bind/whip the ends of your cords together completing the sling.

A hole in the pouch will help in keeping your projectile seated until you throw it. It may take a little trial and error but for the most part if you have basic crafting skills, a piece of cloth and string/cord you can make this sling in a few minutes.

Sling On!

Slings of the World - Mongolian Desert

I finished two new slings today and the post title is a little misleading. These are not from or of the style of the Mongilan Desert tribespeople however the materials are from there. These slings are made from the hair of those small Mongolian ponies. It's softer and was easier to work with than American horse varieties.